Already particularly tense, relations between Hungary and Ukraine reached a new low on Friday, September 26, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lodged an official protest following the flight of reconnaissance drones, apparently originating from Hungary, over part of western Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban initially denied responsibility for sending the drones, but by Monday, September 29, he downplayed the significance of the incident.

"Whether two, three, or four Hungarian drones crossed the border or not is not the issue. Let's say they flew a few meters into the country – so what? Ukraine is not an independent, sovereign country; we are the ones keeping it afloat, so it should not act as if it were," he said in a podcast organized by his political party. These comments were yet another escalation in the anti-Ukraine rhetoric of the nationalist leader, well known for his close ties to Vladimir Putin.

"The good news is that Prime Minister Orbán has admitted that some drones did enter Ukrainian airspace from Hungary. But the bad news is that the Prime Minister remains intoxicated by Russian propaganda," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Meanwhile, Zelensky said that "if such drones appear again," he had instructed his military to "respond appropriately," implying the drones could be shot down.

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